Inability of the designated hospital cannot defeat implementation of an RPwD appellate reassessment order.

The Petitioner was issued a disability certificate by Dr. Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital, Rohini, on 22 February 2025, recording a 13% hearing impairment.

Dissatisfied with the assessment, he preferred an appeal under Section 59(1) of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (“RPwD Act”). On 1 December 2025, the Directorate General of Health Services, GNCTD, acting as the appellate authority, directed that the Petitioner be sent to Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital (“RML Hospital”) for reassessment.

The Petitioner alleged that, upon visiting RML Hospital, he was orally informed that the requisite facility for reassessment was unavailable. Despite reminders to the concerned authorities, the appellate order remained unimplemented.

The Respondents stated that RML Hospital’s audiometry room was undergoing renovation and that reassessment tests were being conducted at an associate hospital, including Lady Hardinge Medical College. The Petitioner agreed to submit a written representation seeking transfer to an appropriately equipped associate hospital.

Whether the Respondents had failed to implement the appellate order dated 1 December 2025 directing reassessment of the Petitioner’s hearing impairment

Whether the Petitioner could be referred or transferred to an associate hospital having the requisite facilities where RML Hospital was temporarily unable to conduct the reassessment

The Court exercised its jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India to secure implementation of the statutory appellate order.

It applied Section 59(1) of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, under which an aggrieved person may appeal against the assessment or determination reflected in a disability certificate.

The governing principle applied was that an order passed by the competent appellate authority must be given effective implementation, and administrative or infrastructural difficulties cannot defeat the Petitioner’s right to reassessment; where the designated hospital lacks the temporary capacity to conduct the examination, reassessment may be facilitated through an appropriately equipped associate hospital.

The Court accepted that the Petitioner had succeeded in obtaining an appellate direction for reassessment, but that the direction had not been implemented because RML Hospital’s audiometry room was undergoing renovation.

Rather than requiring reassessment at RML Hospital despite the temporary unavailability of facilities, the Court treated referral to an associate hospital as a practical means of giving effect to the appellate order.

Since the Petitioner was willing to submit a representation and the Respondents acknowledged that reassessment facilities were available at an associate hospital, the Court found that the grievance could be adequately addressed through a time-bound transfer or referral.

Upon receipt, the concerned authorities were directed to take appropriate steps to refer or transfer the Petitioner to an associate hospital having the requisite facilities, including Lady Hardinge Medical College, for reassessment of his hearing impairment, thereby implementing the appellate order dated 1 December 2025, within six weeks of receiving the representation.

Pending applications were also disposed of.